


Team

by Endeer



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Pokemon, Angst, Explicit Language, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, Pokemon, Pokemon AU, Pokemon Battles, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, Time Skips, Violence, fighting god at one point, may add more tags idk, not like. BAD violence. just violence, original villain characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29952285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endeer/pseuds/Endeer
Summary: "That got Dream to laugh- making Dream laugh was something George liked to think he was good at."Dream has been looking forward to getting a Pokemon and participating in the gym challenge ever since he moved from Sinnoh to the region of Craftia- a region with a very diverse population of Pokemon. When he finally gets his first Pokemon, a Bulbasaur, he and his friends Sapnap and George start their adventure as Pokemon Trainers.“For one to summon the almighty, bathe thyself in the blood of the most powerful dream, closest to heaven may you be.”
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. YEAR 1 (13)

The sun gently rose up over the hills that surrounded the small town of Dawnworthy. Its light awakened the sleeping Wooloos on the fields, and Spearows began to call out for the world to begin the day. A young, 13-year-old boy named Dream, however, was already wide awake. He had barely slept at all, kept up by pure excitement for the day that was now finally here. Dream threw on his clothes and put on a mask to the side of his face. It was a weird accessory, sure, having a full-face mask on the side of your head, but Dream felt comforted by it. He always had. Grabbing his backpack and slinging it behind him, Dream looked to the poster on his wall. It had big, bold letters:  **THE REGION OF CRAFTIA** , and below was a column of photos from the major towns in Craftia. Dream had gotten the poster when he first moved here from Sinnoh. Was it tacky and did it make him look like a tourist in his own home? Yes. Did he love it anyways? Also yes. 

The Craftia region was known for its diverse population of Pokemon. On top of that, it had the wildly popular gym challenge, similarly set up to the gym challenge in Galar, though there were some differences. For one, Craftia maintained an Elite Four you had to get through before battling the Champion. Another thing was that the Gym Leaders of the Craftia region had no type they “specialized” in. Here, it was believed that limiting oneself to using only one type would hinder strength and ultimately lead to an easy battle. The problem that happened in return, though, was that gym challengers found the Gym Leaders too hard to get through, and barely any challengers got to the eighth gym. Dream clenched his fist thinking about it. He wouldn’t back down- not only would he make it to the eighth gym, he’d make it to the Champion. Past the other challengers, past the Gym Leaders, past the Elite Four, and past the Champion himself, Arthur. 

...But, Dream didn’t have any Pokemon. At least, not yet. Professor Maple, who watched Dream and his friends grow up in Dawnworthy, had always promised the boys that she would give them all Pokemon from her lab one day. And today was that day.

“George! George, wake up!” Dream whisper-yelled, throwing pebbles at a second-story window of a neighboring house. The window opened, and a furious young boy- the same age as Dream- poked his head out. 

“Dream, do you have any idea what  _ time  _ it is?!” George whisper-yelled back, eyebrows furrowing.

Dream shrugged in response. “Who cares? Today’s the day, George! Get down here already, we have to go get Sapnap!”

George groaned. “Fine.”

George turned his back to Dream and disappeared into his room. He got dressed rather quickly, due to the excitement he was just now registering. He was going to get a Pokemon today.

George had lived in Craftia all his life, in Dawnworthy town, alongside Sapnap. Dream had moved in a few years ago, but that didn’t stop George and Sapnap from acting like he had been there all his life, too. George smiled to himself as he put a pair of goggles atop his head. 

“There you are. Finally. Okay, let’s go get Sapnap.” Dream immediately ran off the minute George walked out of his house, and George rolled his eyes, but went after him. 

“Is Professor Maple even gonna be awake?” George suddenly thought aloud.

“Of course she is. She’s old, and old people wake up really early.” Dream shot back as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

It didn’t take long at all to get to Sapnap’s house. The town was probably the smallest in the region, but that didn’t bother the boys at all. As they approached the house, Sapnap walked out the door, smiling big. 

“Took you guys long enough!” Sapnap laughed, putting his hands on his hips. 

“Sapnap? You’re awake?” George said in disbelief. “You always sleep in so late…”

“Not today!” Sapnap tugged on the white headband around his forehead, making sure it was tight. “There’s no way I’m sleeping through this!” 

Dream nodded. “Okay. Let’s get our Pokemon, guys.”

Professor Maple blinked down at the young boys who were at her doorstep. 

“Don’t you boys think...it’s a bit early for this?” She tried. The boys, of course, all shook their heads no. Professor Maple couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, if you all insist. Come inside.” The three boys did what they were told, immediately racing into the lab that doubled as a house. Sapnap began to frantically look over everything, as if expecting the Pokemon to just pop out from behind the photo he was peering at. Dream spared at the glance Sapnap was staring at. It looked old, with Professor Maple- younger in age- holding a small girl in her arms. Probably her daughter. Dream tilted his head to the side a bit. He had never met this girl, and George and Sapnap never mentioned Professor Maple having a daughter. His attention shifted quickly as the sound of a shuffling lab coat revealed Professor Maple putting it on and walking over to a table. George was following close behind her, eyes big. Dream and Sapnap rushed over to the table as Professor Maple held up three pokeballs between her fingers. 

“These are Pokemon from Kanto. I got them from the Professor there, and I think they fit perfectly for your little trio.” She smiled, and gently tossed the three pokeballs onto the table.

A green Pokemon with a bulb on its back popped out first. Then, a blue pokemon with a shell. Lastly, a red pokemon with a flame on its tail. The three pokemon looked around at the situation, curious.

“Meet Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. They arrived in Craftia not very long ago, so they’re still getting used to their surroundings.”

Dream wasn’t really listening. Bulbasaur was staring up at him with big, wondrous eyes, mouth hanging open. Dream had a similar expression, staring back at the Pokemon. 

Sapnap, meanwhile, had picked up Charmander, bringing it close to his chest. “You are so adorable! How’d you like to come with me? Huh? Whaddya think?” He babbled enthusiastically. Charmander wore a happy expression, letting out cute noises of approval. 

George offered a fist bump to Squirtle, and Squirtle gladly fist bumped back. They nodded at each other, and that was all that was needed. 

“Dream? I’m guessing you’re going with Bulbasaur, then?” Professor Maple smiled.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I am.” Dream felt a grin slowly spread across his face as he picked up Bulbasaur, who still looked curious. He finally had his first Pokemon.

The first thing Sapnap and Dream did was go out and battle, but with Sapnap’s Charmander already knowing Ember, it was a quick loss for Dream, who groaned in disappointment as his new Pokemon fainted. George shook his head.

“Go inside and ask Professor Maple to heal it, I guess.” George put his hands on his hips, Squirtle on his shoulder. Dream scooped up the fainted Pokemon and shuffled guiltily back inside to the lab. Sapnap let out a loud whoop and high-fived his Charmander. George shot him a look. “Are you really  _ that  _ excited? It was pretty obvious who was going to win that battle.”

“Still, it was my first Pokemon battle! Of course I’m happy I won!” Sapnap let Charmander up on his shoulder, scratching under its chin. George let a soft smile take form on his face. 

It didn’t take long for Dream to come running out again, Bulbasaur now healed and running behind him. “How about I battle you, now, George?” He offered enthusiastically. 

“No thanks,” George scoffed. “I’d rather not fight a battle I know I’m gonna lose. Grass is super effective against water, and I don’t want to go heal Squirtle right after you already bothered Professor Maple.”

“You don’t know it’s gonna be a losing battle. You don’t know unless you try.” Dream huffed, eyebrows furrowing. 

George just rolled his eyes, offering no response. Sapnap coughed to clear the air. 

“So, how about we call Bad and Ant? They’d be happy to know we finally got our Pokemon.” 

Bad and Antfrost - Ant for short - were friends with the three boys, friends with George and Sapnap before Dream came along. The two welcomed Dream with open arms- not literally, though, as neither of them lived in Dawnworthy. Bad lived two towns over in Hillsfar, and Ant was in Windmore, which was pretty far. As a result, the boys got to see Bad more often than Ant, but never let that tear up their bond with the latter boy. Additionally, Ant had started his journey earlier than the rest of them- his parents were both Ace Trainers, and so he completely got a headstart on the whole “Pokemon Trainer” thing. Bad, on the other hand, hadn’t started his journey yet, but he already had a Pokemon. He’s had an Eevee ever since Dream knew him. 

It didn’t take long for Bad and Ant to pick up their phones. The group facetime showed everyone's faces, with Sapnap, Dream and George all crowding around the camera on Sapnap’s phone. 

“Hey, guys! What’s up? Why are you calling so early?” Bad asked. Antfrost seemed to be walking, his attention half on the path in front of him and half on the camera. 

“We have something to show you two!” Sapnap enthused, and his Charmander popped up to investigate the camera. 

“Wow! A Charmander?? You got your Pokemon???” Bad gawked.

“He’s not the only one. Check out my Bulbasaur!” Dream laughed, picking up his partner Pokemon. George picked up his Squirtle as well, smiling.

“A Bulbasaur and a Squirtle! Did you guys go to Kanto or something? You wouldn’t without us, right?” Bad teased.

“Of course not,” George huffed. “Professor Maple gave them to us. Sapnap already beat Dream in a battle.” 

“Did you have to tell them  _ that _ ?” Dream whined, but Bad and Ant were already laughing. 

“Well, you have quite a lot of time to get better at battling, so I wouldn’t sweat it.” Ant nodded to himself. 

Sapnap tilted his head. “Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

George bonked Sapnap over the head, Sapnap letting out a small ‘ow’. “You idiot, did you already forget? We can’t enter the gym challenge until we’re 18, those are the region’s rules.”

Sapnap chuckled. “Oh, right…”

Dream’s lips thinned into a line. “I don’t want to wait that long, though. We already waited so long to get our Pokemon…”

“If you already waited, then there’s no problem waiting a bit more, right?” Bad smiled innocently. Dream just sighed. 

“Always looking at the bright side, huh, Bad?”

“It’s what I’m good at!”

“Well, if I train until I’m 18, won’t I be too strong for the Gym Leaders?” Dream wondered aloud. 

George shook his head. “That’s not how it works here. Gym Leaders use different teams depending on how powerful they think their opponent is, so you really don’t have to worry about ‘overpowering’ any of them.”

“I think that’s how it works in other regions, too, but it just doesn’t occur as much.” Ant informed the group, ever-knowing about the customs of a Pokemon gym battle. 

“Maybe it’s good we have so much time. In order to enter the gym challenge in the first place, we have to go all the way to Brightchester. If we use our time getting better at journeying from town to town, when the time comes, we can get to Brightchester easily.” George put a hand up to his chin.

“Yeah, that’s a great way of looking at it!” Bad clapped his hands together. “Plus, it means you have more of a chance of running into me or Ant!”

“That’s always a good thing.” Sapnap laughed. 

George looked at Dream, who still seemed to be down about the gym challenge. “Dream, we can’t start our gym challenge yet, sure- but we can start our  _ journey _ . We have Pokemon now, Dream. Don’t be such a pussy.”

That got Dream to laugh- making Dream laugh was something George liked to think he was good at. 

“Language!”

“Bad, we’re 13, we can say whatever we want!”

“He’s gonna be pulling ‘language’ up ‘till we’re dead, Sapnap.”

5 years. Dream just had to wait 5 more years until the gym challenge. This was year 1, and Dream wouldn’t sit and twiddle his thumbs any longer. Now that he had his Pokemon, he wanted to get to training right away- and that’s exactly what he did. Though the trio decided to stay in Dawnworthy for the year, that didn’t mean they couldn’t go out into the forest and train. It was noticeable that Dream went out far more than the other two, but he still hung out with George and Sapnap all the same. 

One day, Sapnap came back with one extra pokeball hanging from his belt. 

“Uh...you just keeping that for aesthetic purposes, or…?” George raised his eyebrows.

“No! Of course it’s not for aesthetic purposes- I caught another Pokemon!” Sapnap yelled. “Check it out- come out, Poochyena!”

A dark-furred canine Pokemon with fangs poking from its mouth erupted from the light of the pokeball. It shook its head, looking around, and letting out a singular bark. 

“Aww, it’s cute!” Dream cooed, and the Poochyena growled.

“Uh, it kinda has a behavior problem, by the way.” Sapnap admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “It attacked Charmander and I when we were training. When I caught it, I figured its attitude would go away, but I quickly realized that was not the case.”

“How...adorable.” George blinked down at the now rapidly yapping Pokemon.

“Okay, listen- I’m the one with two Pokemon here! Not you guys! So, be jealous, or something!”

“I’m leaning more towards the ‘or something’ option.” George crossed his arms as Dream tried to pet the Poochyena.

Sapnap sighed and returned his new Pokemon to its pokeball, right as it had begun to lunge at Dream. “Whatever. Let’s just go inside.”

  
  


Professor Maple stood with a cup of coffee in her hands. She stared at the photo hanging on the wall- the photo of her with her daughter, Evangeline. Carefully, she stroked the photo with her free hand, feeling her eyes tear up a little. “Evangeline, you stupid girl…”


	2. YEAR 2 (14)

When the second year came around, the first thing Sapnap, George and Dream did was head to Hillsfar to see Bad. 

Hillsfar was a nice town with  _ tons  _ of flowers. Grass and Fairy type Pokemon spread themselves across the fields of countless flowers, all enjoying themselves to the fullest. George laughed at a curious Combee who came up to investigate Squirtle, who was perched on George’s shoulder. Squirtle tilted its head at the smaller Pokemon, and reached a hand out towards it. When Combee backed up and gently flew away, Squirtle looked disappointed. 

“Hey, don’t worry about it, buddy.” George chuckled, scratching Squirtle under the chin and raising the Pokemon’s spirit right back up. 

“Baaaaaaaaaad, open your doooooooooooooooooooor!” Sapnap groaned, pounding at the front door of Bad’s house. The door finally creaked open, but nobody was there. At least, until the boys looked down.   
An Umbreon was staring up at them.

The boys all squealed in surprise, scattering. 

“Hey guys! What’s wrong?” Bad came out from behind the door, picking up the Umbreon.

“Wh-What’s  _ wrong _ ?! Bad, we thought we were at the wrong house or something! Your Eevee  _ evolved _ ?!” George sputtered out, now daring to look closer at the Pokemon Bad was holding.

“Yep! It evolved not too long ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? Dude, that’s awesome!” Sapnap smiled, jogging up to Bad and petting Umbreon as if he hadn’t just screamed in terror at the sight of it. Dream followed up behind Sapnap, blinking at the Umbreon.

“I knew you guys were coming to visit, so I wanted to keep it a surprise for when you finally came. Ant already knows, so don’t worry about that.” Bad smiled. 

“Bad, you bitch!”

“Language!”

Sapnap groaned. 

“...and in other news, Team Crown just finished one of their famous tournaments for charity, and the winner is…”

Dream peaked in behind Bad. “Team Crown?”

Bad looked over his shoulder, and motioned everyone to come in. “Yeah, you don’t know about them, Dream?”

Sapnap and George looked at each other. “...Have we never told Dream about Team Crown?” George couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oops.”

Dream ignored the two, but felt a little annoyed to be left in the dark about something apparently prominent in the region. Bad turned up the volume on the TV, still holding his Umbreon.

“Team Crown is an organization of really powerful trainers,” Bad started to explain. “They do tons of stuff. Like, they help young trainers out, they hold tournaments and competitions of battling for charity stuff, and they’re huge sponsors of the gym challenge.”

“Not to mention, they’re endorsed by the Champion and the Elite Four. In fact, the Champion and the members of the Elite four are all  _ a part  _ of Team Crown. Isn’t that cool?” Sapnap piped up. “I’d love to join Team Crown someday. But it’s really hard to get into. Y’know, it  _ is  _ an organization that the Elite four  _ and  _ the Champion deemed worthy to join- of course it’s not easy to get into. But still…” Sapnap trailed off, looking to be caught in a daydream. 

George shrugged. “To me, they’re just another group of people, honestly. It’s nice that they do great stuff for charity and all that, but at the end of the day, I think they’re a bit up their own asses.”

“Language! ...And why do you think that, George?” Bad tilted his head, genuinely interested.

“I...don’t really know.” George shifted on his feet. “I met a Team Crown member when I was young, and she really wasn’t nice at all. She seemed to be pretty high up in their ranks, too, judging by her appearance. But, it was long ago, and I don’t really remember.” George added on, trying to change the subject. Bad noticed, and nodded along.

“Okay, that’s fine! We can all have our own opinions. But, yeah, Dream, that’s- that’s Team Crown of the Craftia region.” 

Dream blinked at the TV screen, which was now showing the Champion, Arthur. A team that the Champion  _ and  _ the Elite Four were a part of? Dream didn’t really know what to think. Sapnap seemed to love them, and George...didn’t. Dream just decided he’d go undecided for now. 

Halfway through the year, Professor Maple had approached George with an egg in her hands. And before George could really register what was happening, he was suddenly in charge of caring for the egg.

“Aww, George is a mommmm.” Sapnap cooed teasingly, poking at the egg. George whipped the egg away from Sapnap’s touch. 

“Do you know what’s gonna...hatch...from it?” Dream asked, peering at the egg George was now holding.

George shrugged. “I have no clue. I asked Professor Maple, and she just said it was an egg from Johto.”

“What’s with people and sending Professor Maple Pokemon from all over the world?” Sapnap questioned, now playing with his headband. 

“No clue.” George absentmindedly responded, looking down at the egg.

“What if it, like, grows vines and corrupts all of our minds or something?” Sapnap suddenly said, and Dream and George stared at him. “...Sorry. Stupid thought.”

“Incredibly stupid.” George narrowed his eyes. 

With how much the trio was journeying, the egg hatched quickly. A Togepi was now sitting in George’s arms, his Squirtle looking down at it. 

“A  _ Togepi _ ?! Aw, dude, now you have to take care of a baby, practically!” Sapnap laughed. 

“I think it’s cute!” Dream tried, and George just sighed as the Togepi immediately started to cry. 

The three had to get back to Dawnworthy to tell Professor Maple about the egg hatching. After they succeeded with that, Sapnap went back to his house, claiming he “was sick of hearing Togepi cry”. Professor Maple  _ did  _ tell them that Sapnap was partially right about calling Togepi a baby- it was known to very much act like one, and it needed lots of care and love in order to evolve. Until then, though, one could expect it to act like an infant. In fact, most Togepi’s were afraid of being in their pokeballs, so there quite literally was no escape from its “baby rage”. 

“Great.” George muttered, putting Togepi in a high chair. “Just great. I wanted a second Pokemon, but now I’m on  _ mom duty _ .” 

Dream let out a soft chuckle as George prepared some Pokemon food for his Togepi and Squirtle. “I can’t believe you can’t even put it in a pokeball.”

“I’ve tried. I can, but not for long periods of time. It starts freaking out and crying.” George responded, putting the Pokemon food in front of Togepi, who called out happily. George then put Squirtle on the ground and put more Pokemon food into a bowl, handing it over to his partner Pokemon and patting it on the head as it ate. 

Dream watched Togepi eat. It nibbled its food carefully, but quickly. “...How are you gonna, like,  _ sleep _ ?” 

George stopped in his tracks, and then let out a long groan. “Oh my Arceus, I didn’t even  _ think  _ of that. Thanks for  _ reminding  _ me.”

“...Was that sarcasm?”

George rubbed the back of his head, sighing. “I guess I’ll just have to wake up every few hours to check on it.”

“...I could sleep over. Y’know, to help you out.” Dream offered. George stared at him for a second too long, making Dream feel a bit awkward. Then, George shifted his gaze away, putting his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, actually. I could use some help.”

Dream smiled. “Then count me in. I’ll be the dad.”

“Hold on, since when are  _ you  _ the dad?”

“Didn’t you literally just say you were the mom?”

“Well, that was before this.  _ I’m  _ the dad.”

“Uhh, no. I’m taller and stronger than you. I’m dad.”

George crossed his arms. “You’re saying that the mom can’t be tall and strong? How sexist of you.”

“You’re the one saying there can’t be two dads in the first place! How homophobic of you!” Dream shot back.

The two stared at each other, and then broke into fits of laughter. 

The happy mood did not last. At first, Dream and George treated it like a regular sleepover, laughing and joking around and staying up late. But when Togepi started to cry from its pokeball, the terror began. 

George was cradling Togepi in his arms, trying desperately to get it to calm down. “Hush, little Togepi, shut the fuck up...please, for Arceus’s sake, just fucking shut up…” He mockingly cooed, obviously upset and tired. 

“I don’t think you’re supposed to curse at a baby.” Dream snickered.

“At this point, I don’t care.” George muttered, continuing to cradle Togepi, who had stopped crying. “Here, I’m gonna go downstairs and get it some milk in a bottle. You hold it.” Without Dream’s agreement, George handed over Togepi, and rushed out of the room.

Togepi took one look at Dream and immediately started to cry again.

“Wh-hey! Shush, shhh, shut up! What’d I do wrong??” Dream panicked, cradling Togepi a bit too fast. Togepi just continued to cry. 

“Here- here, uh…” Dream frantically looked around for something to help. His eyes landed on a large Snorlax plushie, and he carefully leaned Togepi up against it. “See? This is a nice, soft plushie. Do you like it?”

Togepi blinked up at Dream, confused. Dream took the opportunity to grab another plushie- a small Stufful- and handed it to Togepi. “Here, grab onto this.”

Togepi did as it was told, slowly taking hold of the tiny plushie, and looking down at it. Dream sat criss-crossed next to Togepi, patting it on the head.

“You like plushies, don’t you? Good thing George has so many. It’s kind of adorable, really.”

Togepi looked up at Dream, and squeezed onto the Stufful plush. Dream let himself fall backwards onto the carpeted floor, yawning. 

“Dream, are you sleeping on the job?” George’s voice rang through Dream’s ears, and Dream sat back up immediately.

“Uh- no, not at all.” Dream obviously lied, cracking a smile. 

“You actually got Togepi to not cry? I’m impressed.” George raised his eyebrows, walking over and bending down next to Togepi, who was still holding onto the Stufful.

“I found out it really likes plushies. Nice coincidence that you have some, huh?”

George’s cheeks flushed. “I- listen, they’re nice to sleep with.”

“Sure.”

George groaned, taking Togepi and feeding it the bottle of milk. Togepi continued to hang on to the plushie, but gladly drank the milk. 

“...Thanks for the help, Dream.” George suddenly said, and Dream’s eyes widened. 

“Of course, George. I can’t promise I’ll sleep over  _ all  _ the time, but if this continues, I’ll still help out. Togepi has kind of grown on me.”

George smiled. “I’m happy to hear that. I know Togepi is a lot to handle, but I do really care about it. It is my Pokemon, after all.”

Dream nodded. “It’s pretty obvious why Professor Maple trusted you with raising it.”

George looked surprised at that sentiment. “...Do you really think so?”

“Of course, dude. Professor Maple said Togepi will evolve with high friendship, right? It won’t take any time at all to evolve it, then.”

George smiled. “I’m happy to know you think that, Dream.”

Maybe it was just because they were both exhausted, but sharing feelings had come very easily. Dream and George tended to tell each other everything, anyways, but such sentimental moments were few and far between. Joking around was much more fun, and it cost way less effort. 

‘But it is nice, everyone once in a while.’ Dream thought to himself, gazing at George, who was now focused on feeding Togepi. 

Sapnap put his hands on his hips. “You two look  _ exhausted. _ ”

“That’s because we are.” George simply responded, still holding onto Togepi. 

“Togepi kept us up most of the night. I’m used to staying up, but staying up in order to take care of Togepi...feels a lot different. A lot more tiring.” Dream said through a yawn. Bulbasaur was sitting on his lap, eyes closed. Sapnap was the only one standing up and had Charmander on his shoulder.

“Well, whatever. How about you let Togepi battle Charmander?” 

George immediately scoffed. “Absolutely not.”

“Whaaat?? George, I get that it’s like, a baby Pokemon, or whatever, but it's still a  _ Pokemon _ . If you wanna be a Pokemon Trainer, you actually have to  _ train  _ it.”

“I get that, but I know you’re just looking for an easy win.” 

Sapnap’s mouth thinned into a line, a clear sign of guilt. “Okay, fine.”

“How about we all just settle down with a picnic in the forest? I’m pretty hungry.” Dream offered, petting his Bulbasaur.

“That sounds good. Don’t blame me if I fall asleep though.” George nodded, standing up.

Sapnap pushed out his lips, exhaling. “Yeah, I guess that sounds good.”

Dream laid out the blanket on the grassy ground, trees casting shade over where the trio set up. George carefully put down the lunchboxes they all brought, still keeping an eye on Togepi, who was currently bothering Squirtle. Sapnap, meanwhile, stretched out before throwing out his second pokeball to release Poochyena. 

“...You sure you want Poochyena out of the pokeball?” George raised his eyebrows.

“Well, yeah. Dude, I’m not gonna force it to stay in its pokeball and watch everyone else eat.”

“I get that, but…” George trailed off as Poochyena started to yap at Dream, who had begun trying to coo at it. 

“Poochyena is part of the Sapnap team, behavior problems and all.” Sapnap puffed out his chest, weirdly proud of the misbehaving canine. 

Togepi waddled up to Poochyena, who backed up and growled. Squirtle quickly took Togepi away. Bulbasaur, meanwhile, had fallen asleep on the blanket, front legs tucked into itself. Sapnap finally decided to sit down, taking a lunchbox and opening it. 

“Hey, Charmander, Poochyena- do you guys want some food?”

Charmander immediately jumped off of Sapnap’s shoulder to examine the food he was now holding. Poochyena, like flipping a switch, bounded over to Sapnap, wagging its tail.

“So it hates everything but food. Good to know.” Dream chuckled, looking at the Poochyena. 

Sapnap patted his Charmander on the head before giving it a handful of Pokemon food, before doing the same with Poochyena, who gobbled up the food rapidly.

“I take the chance to pet it whenever it eats.” Sapnap smiled, stroking the canine Pokemon. “Its fur is really soft- makes me wish I would get to pet it more.”

“Have you thought about talking to Professor Maple about its anger issues? Maybe she can help.” George questioned while feeding Togepi milk from a bottle.

“I’ve talked to her. She says to be patient with it, and give it lots of love. It might take a while, but I’m willing to stick it through. I’m not about to abandon one of my Pokemon just cause it likes to bite me.” Sapnap crossed his arms, nodding to himself.

Dream smiled. Sapnap had a lot of quirks- but overall, he was a good person, and a good friend. Dream remembered what Sapnap said about Team Crown- it made sense Sapnap would want to join a group of strong trainers who did nice deeds. Both of those factors checked out for Sapnap. His friend wanted to be strong, but strength wasn’t all he cared about; far from it. 

“Sounds like my situation with Togepi- but instead of biting, it’s crying.” George sighed, putting down the bottle of milk.

“Neither of you guys really had much luck with your second Pokemon.” Dream teased.

“At least we  _ have  _ a _ second _ Pokemon. You still only have Bulbasaur, Dream.” Sapnap shot back.

Dream looked over at Bulbasaur, who was still sound asleep. Charmander was trying to wake it up, with no success. 

“I like it that way.” Dream finally said, putting a hand on Bulbasaur’s head, who finally began to stir. 

“You don’t want any more Pokemon? How are you supposed to beat anybody in battles?” George’s eyebrows furrowed.

“No, not that. Of course I want more Pokemon, it’s just...I don’t know. I don’t want to go out of my way to find and catch them. If they want to be a part of my team, I’ll know.” Dream put his hand to his chin, thinking hard.

“That...makes no sense.” George blinked.

“Yeah, what’s that even supposed to  _ mean _ ?” Sapnap challenged, raising an eyebrow. 

Dream felt his face redden. “I’m not trying to say you guys did it  _ wrong  _ or anything. I just...I don’t know, I felt a special connection with Bulbasaur when I saw it. I want that with my other Pokemon, too. It’s why I haven’t been catching every single Pokemon I battle.”

“As long as you’re not making fun of us, I don’t really care.” Sapnap shrugged. George laughed. “I’ve learned to just let you do what you do, Dream.”

Dream’s shoulders sagged. His friends weren’t really understanding him, but this wouldn’t be the first time. Sometimes Dream found it hard to articulate exactly what he meant- like,  _ really  _ hard. When Bulbasaur nudged his arm, he snapped out of his thoughts, and looked over to his partner.

“Your Bulbasaur looks hungry.” Sapnap said through a mouthful of sandwich. 

“Ew, gross, Sapnap. Eat before you speak.” George narrowed his eyes at his friend. 

Sapnap shrugged again, continuing to eat his sandwich. 

“Do you want some Pokemon food, Bulbasaur?” Dream offered. Bulbasaur nodded, and Dream gave it a pat on the head.

  
  


_ “For one to summon the almighty, bathe thyself in the blood of the most powerful dream, closest to heaven may you be.” _ Evangeline traced her fingers along the words in the old, ripped up book. She had dedicated her life to finding out what this prophecy meant, and she wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. 

Whatever it took, she was going to summon Arceus.


	3. YEAR 3 (15)

“Squirtle, Water Gun!” George commanded. Squirtle did as it was told, shooting down a Zubat. Sapnap, George and Dream were in Ironpool cave, a cave that lead to the town of Windmore, where Antfrost lived. Antfrost had just been made into the new Gym Leader of Windmore, and the three teenagers promised to come see him to celebrate. 

“I still can’t believe this.” Sapnap put his arms up behind his head. “Ant is our age, and yet he’s already a Gym Leader? That’s just insane.”

“What’s really insane is Ant’s talent as a Pokemon Trainer. He’s kind of been raised for this, you know.” George reminded him, holding Togepi in his arms. 

“Still...isn’t it weird?” Dream cocked his head to the side.

“What is?”

“That a 15 year old can become Gym Leader, but technically you’re not allowed to enter the gym challenge itself until you’re 18?”

“To be fair, there’s young Gym Leaders all over the world.” Sapnap commented. “I heard there was a kid in Galar who’s, like, 11.”

“Anyways, Sapnap, you still have the map, right? Are we close to getting out of here yet?” George changed the subject, anxious to get out of the dark and eerie cave.

“Yeah, it’s right- oh.” Sapnap stopped himself after checking his bag.

“‘Oh’?” George looked at his friend with worry.

“Um...small problem.” Sapnap pointed into a dark corner.

A small, sharp-toothed Pokemon was huddled where Sapnap pointed, ripping apart a piece of paper with its rows of fangs. 

“Don’t tell me…”

“...That’s the map, isn’t it?” Dream finished George’s thought. 

The Pokemon looked up to the three, growling, and suddenly lunged at the closest trainer- Sapnap, as luck had it be. He quickly took a step back and threw out a pokeball. “Charmander, go!”

Charmander erupted from the light of the pokeball, shaking itself off and looking at its opponent. 

“Apparently, that thing is called Gible.” George informed the group, looking at his phone. 

“Oh, I know Gible. They’re native to Sinnoh.” Dream hummed. “ _ Real  _ mean fuckers.”

“I don’t care how mean it is, I’m making it pay for destroying the map!” Sapnap yelled. “Charmander, Smokescreen!”

Smoke poured out from Charmander’s mouth, enveloping the Gible in darkness. It frantically looked around, unable to see.

“Now! Dragon Breath!” 

Charmander released a blue flame into the smoke, only for the same type of blue flame to counter it and cancel it out. Gible leaped out of the smoke.

“Oh, looks like it also knows Dragon Breath.” George raised his eyebrows, holding Togepi a little tighter as Gible landed on top of Charmander, landing a Tackle attack. 

“Whatever- we’ve still got the upper hand!” Sapnap shouted.

“...You really don’t.” George muttered.

“Charmander, Scratch!” Sapnap commanded, ignoring George. 

Charmander sliced its little claws against Gible, and though it didn’t do much, Gible still backed up. 

“Perfect! Now-”

Before Sapnap could finish his sentence, Gible snapped its teeth together in a chomping motion, and the ground around Charmander began to shake. 

“It’s using Bulldoze! That’s super effective against Charmander!” Dream stepped forward, warning his friend. 

But it was too late. Charmander lay on the ground, fainted. Sapnap returned his partner to its pokeball, nodding down at his hand that gripped onto it. “You did good, Charmander. Sorry, I should’ve known…”

George turned away. “Well, so much for getting revenge for the map. Let’s keep going-”

“I’m not done yet!” Sapnap put his hand to his chest, stepping forward towards Gible. “Go, Poochyena!”

George turned back around, raising an eyebrow. Dream was now completely focused on the battle, so when George stared at Dream to try and say that this was ridiculous, Dream didn’t notice.

“We’re not making the same mistakes this time.” Sapnap said, readying his stance. “Poochyena, Howl!”

Poochyena let out an ear-piercing howl that raised its attack stat. Gible responded with a Dragon Breath, but Poochyena quickly dodged to the side.

“You’re not the only one with fangs and a tendency to bite here, Gible! Poochyena, show ‘em how it’s done! Use Bite!” 

Poochyena surged forward, slamming its jaws down around Gible’s top fin, Gible letting out a screech. 

“Great! Now, come back and use Howl again!”

Poochyena leapt backwards towards Sapnap, paws skidding against the cavern ground. It let out one more howl, raising its attack stat once again.

Gible held its top fin as if trying to comfort itself, and looked furiously towards Poochyena. It put its hands on the ground, and suddenly the area around Poochyena began to shake.   
Sapnap threw his arm out. “Don’t get caught in it! Jump and use Bite again!”

Poochyena leaped up away from the ground, landing on top of Gible and biting it. Gible squealed as Poochyena didn’t let go. 

“Perfect, Poochyena! Now, watch  _ this _ !” Sapnap emphasized his last word as he threw a pokeball straight at Gible. 

“Wait, since when was your intention to  _ catch  _ it??” George gawked. 

Sapnap said nothing in response as he waited for the pokeball to roll.

Once.

Twice.

As it rolled a third time, it clicked.

Sapnap stood in silence for a minute before letting out a very loud holler. Poochyena wagged its tail as Sapnap picked it up and whirled around with it, and in excitement, bit Sapnap on the nose.

“OW- Ow- Poochyena, we were doing so well…” Sapnap whined, returning Poochyena to its pokeball. “...But thank you.”

Dream and George walked over to their friend as he picked up his new Pokemon in its pokeball. He smiled at them, obviously proud of himself.

Before anyone could say anything though, the sound of slow clapping echoed throughout the cave. Everyone was immediately on the defensive, watching as the source of the sound came out from behind a jagged rock. 

It was a boy around their age, maybe a bit older. His appearance caught Dream off guard. He had pink hair tied back into a ponytail, and eyes as red as rubies. 

“That was impressive.” The strange teenager said, putting a hand to his hip.

“What’s up, buddy?? Wanna fight?!” Sapnap immediately challenged, George sighing. 

“I just saw you almost get wiped out by a Gible. Are you sure you’re up to fighting me?”

Sapnap stayed silent, but still looked angry.

“Who are you?” Dream asked, trying to make the situation less tense.

“That doesn’t matter.”

“O...kay? You just wanted to come over here and congratulate Sapnap?” George cast a weird look at the boy.

“I heard yelling, and I came to check it out.” The teenager said matter-of-factly.

“Oh. That explains it.” Dream muttered, side-eyeing his very loud friend. 

“Good to see nobody’s in trouble. Just someone being  _ way too loud _ .”

“I AM NOT LOUD!” Sapnap shouted. 

The pink-haired teenager raised an eyebrow. “Sure, you’re not.”

“...I think we’ll be going now. Thanks for...congratulating our friend.” George said slowly, narrowing his eyes. Before Sapnap or Dream could respond, he turned around and started to walk.

Sapnap followed after him, yelling at George to ‘wait’ and ‘hold on’. 

Dream was left staring at the stranger.

“What is it?” The teenager asked.

“...Nothing.” Dream responded. He turned and began to follow in the trail of his friends.

The pink haired teen was alone now, and he looked where Dream had left. “That guy…” He muttered.

Later in the year, Sapnap had convinced Dream and George to all go to the Draco Ruins, located near the town of Everton. Sapnap had told them that they would all find powerful Dragon type Pokemon there they could catch- and now, as they were all dragging their feet through Hollyborn Forest, they heavily regretted ever letting Sapnap get his way. Everton was still practically  _ in  _ Hollyborn Forest, so there was no way to get to the town without going through the forest. 

“Sapnap, if these Dragon Pokemon are as strong as you say, then...wouldn’t we be unable to actually  _ catch  _ them?” Dream asked as if just now realizing.

“Plus, you already  _ have  _ a Dragon-type Pokemon. If you already forgot about your Gible…” George grumbled. 

“No! Hey, listen! Okay, first off, I did  _ not  _ forget about Gible. He’s a valued member of the Sapnap Squad!”

“The Sapnap Squad…?? Please never say those words again-”

“Second off, even if we can’t  _ catch  _ them, it’d still be good to go there and train, right?”

Dream blinked at his friend. “Sapnap, if they’re stronger than us, then we can’t really train against them, can we? We’d just get wrecked.” 

“What’s the  _ real  _ reason you wanna go, Sapnap?” George raised an eyebrow, Togepi looking up at him from his arms. 

Sapnap stopped in his tracks, and sighed. “Okay, fine. You win. There’s...supposedly some sort of secrets underneath the ruins. I want to find out what it is.”

“ _ What _ ?! Who told you that??” 

“Professor Maple let it slip when I was asking what research she used to do in the past.”

“Well, if it’s from Professor Maple, it’s gotta be legit.” Dream said calmly. 

“Dream, don’t  _ encourage  _ this!” George squealed. “Do you know how  _ dangerous  _ these ruins are?? I thought you’d be satisfied with just walking around them, but you wanna go  _ deep into them _ ?!”

“Listen, maybe what we find can help Professor Maple!” Sapnap argued, beginning to raise his voice.

“Since when did Professor Maple need our help?? She’s a stronger trainer than all of us combined!” George snapped, holding Togepi tighter. 

“Whatever. If you’re not coming with me, that’s fine.” Sapnap grumbled, beginning to walk again. “But I wanna see for myself.”

“Sapnap-” Dream started, but stopped when he saw George turn around and walk the opposite direction. “George-!” He hurried after George, putting a hand on his friends’ shoulder. “George, we can’t just leave him.”

“He’s walking into a losing battle, Dream. I don’t want to be part of that.” George huffed. 

“Still, he’s our friend. We can’t let him go alone.” 

“Then why don’t  _ you  _ go after him?”

“Because I’m not going to leave  _ you  _ alone, either!” Dream protested. 

George kept walking.

“George-”

“Dream, I appreciate it, but I’d rather you go after Sapnap. He’s the one in real danger here.”

“I’m going to need your help.”

“Why?” George spun around to face Dream. “What could you possibly need  _ me  _ for?!”

“What?! I need you because you’re  _ you _ !” Dream said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Dream, you don’t make any sense.” George frowned deeply. 

“No- it makes perfect sense! George-” Dream was cut off by Togepi beginning to cry. 

“Oh,  _ great _ .” George groaned. 

“Wait, hold on.” Dream took off his backpack and reached into it. George raised his eyebrows as Dream took out a small plushie of a Stufful.

“Is that-”

“Yeah, sorry. I kind of...borrowed it. I thought we’d need it for situations like this.” Dream chuckled pitifully as he handed the plushie over to Togepi, who quickly grabbed onto it. 

George looked down at his Togepi as it stopped crying. “But...Togepi isn’t even your  _ Pokemon _ . Why did you…?”

“I just...I don’t know, but just ‘cause it’s your Pokemon doesn’t mean I can’t care about it. Even if a Pokemon is wild, I can still care about it. Right?”

George stared stupidly at his friend before breaking out laughing. 

“G-George? What’s wrong? What’d I do?” Dream asked, beginning to freak out.

“It’s - It’s nothing, Dream, it’s nothing.” George chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. “I guess I just forgot who you were for a second.”

“...Does this mean we can go after Sapnap now?”

George sighed. “...Yeah. Alright, let’s go.”

Dream broke out into a big dumb smile.

When they finally arrived at the Draco Ruins, there was no sign of Sapnap. “He’s probably already underground.” Dream muttered, half to himself, still in awe of the huge ruins that were atop the grass. There was a large lake in the middle, with rivers trickling down to cavern entrances. 

“There’s no time to be impressed. You were right, he’s probably gotten himself into danger already.” George took Dream’s wrist and led him down to one of the cavern entrances- the most scary looking one that was furthest away. 

“Why  _ this  _ one?” Dream complained, not even being able to see inside. 

“You know damn well Sapnap chose this one.” 

“Okay...fair, yeah.”

A small cry came from the stream that was inside the cavern. Curious, Dream wandered over, despite George’s protests. 

A Dratini was in the stream, looking up at Dream with big, sparkling eyes. It let out another cry, and then began to swim down the stream.

“I think it wants us to follow it.” Dream blinked.

“ _ What _ ? How could you have possibly understood that?!” George demanded, holding onto Togepi tighter. 

“Do we have any other choice, really? We have no idea where to go.” Dream shrugged and started running after the Dratini. 

“Dream- agh- nevermind, whatever.” George rolled his eyes and followed after his friend. 

Dream and George followed the Dratini for what seemed like forever. Dream didn’t seem to mind- he kind of looked in a trance, mindlessly following the leading Pokemon. George, meanwhile, had endless anxiety eating at his brain. The darker the cavern got, the tighter he held onto Togepi, and at one point Togepi let out an angry cry from how tight it was being held. George stopped and quickly apologized, trying and failing to laugh it off.

“Hey, George, be careful here.” Dream suddenly warned, and George made the stupid mistake of looking down. Their path they were walking on was suddenly very small, and on the side of it was a steep cliff that George couldn’t even see the bottom of. 

“Are you okay, George?” Dream asked, worry evident in his voice. 

“I’m- I’m fine.” George squeaked unwillingly. 

Then, everything happened in a flash. The Dratini let out a loud cry, and Dream yelled to get down. Confused, George stood still stupidly, and that was the worst choice he could’ve made. A group of Crobats and Golbats swarmed around George, all trying to bite at Togepi. George yelled, hunching over Togepi to try and protect it, letting the Pokemon's attacks be delivered unto him instead. 

“George!!” George heard Dream scream, but whatever Dream was doing, it was too late. One Crobat landed an especially painful bite, making George lose his footing. 

George was falling. 

“GEORGE!”

George didn’t know what to do- he just held onto Togepi as tight as he possibly could. But Togepi turned into a glowing white shape, blinding George.

Next thing he knew, he was going up, not down. 

Slowly, George was lifted up back onto the path, the Crobats and Golbats now gone. He was immediately engulfed in a tight hug from Dream, who was breathing heavily. 

“George- George, oh my Arceus…” Dream held the back of George’s head, which turned to look at what had saved him. Flapping its small wings was a Togetic. 

“...Togepi?” George whispered. Togetic let out a happy cry, raising its small arms. Dream finally let go of George, looking at Togetic with wide eyes. “It evolved to save you, George. You protected it- don’t you remember Togepi evolves by friendship?”

George let out a singular laugh, before breaking out into a huge smile. “Togetic, you evolved! You really evolved!”

Togetic flew into a hug with George, still flapping its wings. 

After gathering themselves, George and Dream continued to follow Dratini, Togetic now flying behind them. Eventually, they entered a room nearly full of fallen rocks. This where the stream ended, and Dratini stopped. Dream wandered inside, and George saw him break into a smile. 

“Sapnap!” Dream called out.

“Huh? Oh- about  _ time  _ you came. Is George with you?” Sapnap called back.

Slowly, George entered from behind Dream, watching as Sapnap began to run over.

“You both came! Man, that’s great, cause guess what?”

“It’s great because we’re here to save you.” George crossed his arms.

Sapnap noticed George’s motion, and raised an eyebrow. “Wait- where’s Togepi?”

Dream pointed a thumb upwards. Sapnap glanced up, and then did a double-take. “T-T- _ Togetic _ ?!”

Togetic whirled around in the air, showing itself off. 

“That’s awesome!!” Sapnap pumped his fists, eyes shining. “Wait- but that’s not what I wanted to say. Here, follow me.”

George trailed after Sapnap towards a huge wall with two pillars in front of it. Dream looked behind him at the Dratini. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back.” Dream smiled at the wild Pokemon, before following after his two friends. 

George and Sapnap were staring at the wall, Sapnap pointing at something on it. Dream walked up to them, looking at the wall for himself. His eyes widened at what he saw.

A nearly erased painting of a majestic, four-legged Pokemon that Dream recognized as Arceus. A legendary Pokemon it was said nobody had ever seen- and apparently the creator of the world. But that wasn’t what caught Dream’s breath in his throat. At the bottom of the painting, big, spaced out letters spelled out:

D R E A M 

“...Dream, isn’t that weird?” Sapnap looked over at his friend, who snapped out of his state of shock. 

“Wh-yeah, yeah. It is...really weird.”

“That’s Arceus, right? Aren’t people really big on Arceus in Sinnoh?” George tilted his head.

Dream looked at the painting again, and sighed. “Well, in school history books, apparently people were. But nowadays, most Sinnoh people are like me: we know about Arceus, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we  _ believe  _ in it or anything.”

Sapnap let out a laugh. “Sorry, but I don’t think I could believe it myself. I get the entire _idea_ of legendary Pokemon is hard to believe, but, we’ve _seen_ them. This guy apparently has _never_ been seen, yet he’s supposed to be the _creator_ _of everything_? As if.” 

George hmmed. “I never really thought about it.”

Dream shrugged. “Neither have I.” He narrowed his eyes at the painting. “...Can we go now? I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Awww, is it making you  _ uncomfy _ , Dweam?” Sapnap teased, and George elbowed him.

“You don’t know what we’ve been through looking for you, Sapnap. I agree with Dream.” 

Sapnap pursed his lips. “Fine, fine.” 

Dratini led them back to the entrance of the cavern. George and Sapnap thanked it and walked off, but Dream stayed behind, staring at the Dratini. 

“Dream, hurry up!”

“Hold on a second!” He called back. Dream kneeled down next to the Dratini, getting out a pokeball. “Hey, Dratini. I know you led us there for a reason. Thanks, even though I don’t really understand...I  _ do  _ understand that you want to come with me, though. Is that right?”

Dratini cried out happily, and Dream smiled. He gently tossed the pokeball on top of Dratini’s head, and it was enveloped in a soft red light before vanishing. The pokeball clicked with ease, and Dream picked it up.

“Miss Evangeline, right this way, please.” 

Doors opened upon Evangeline’s arrival. In a perfectly white room sat the Champion, Arthur, and the Elite Four. They all looked up as she walked in.

“Hey, boss.” Arthur smirked. 

A smile slowly spread across Evangeline’s face. “How’s my beloved Team Crown doing?”

“Ever since you founded Team Crown, it’s been going well. The public of Craftia loves us.”

“Perfect. Then I hope they won’t mind when we finally take over.” Evangeline’s eyes were wild. “When I figure out how to summon Arceus, the entire world will be ours.”


	4. YEAR 4 (16)

It was an easygoing day in Dawnworthy, and Dream, Sapnap and George were training in the woods. 

“Squirtle, Water Gun!”   
“Charmander, Ember!”

“Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf!”

All three Pokemon were pushing themselves to do their best for their trainers, and a white light suddenly overtook their bodies. 

“Wh-What’s happening?!” Sapnap said, covering his eyes. 

“I think- this is-”

The white light faded, and left standing there were three new Pokemon.

Wartortle,

Charmeleon,

and Ivysaur.

“Woah, they  _ all  _ evolved?!” Bad said over the facetime. Sapnap, George and Dream all nodded. “That’s really impressive!”

“I know, even Professor Maple was surprised. She said it's ‘cause we’re so in sync’.” Sapnap puffed out his chest proudly. 

Antfrost had been too busy with his gym to pick up the call, but that didn’t stop the trio from bothering Bad alone. 

“Anything new with you, Bad?” Dream asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, yeah, actually. I hadn’t told you guys because this was literally just yesterday- but I found a Phantump in the flower field. It looked pretty lost, so I went around asking anyone if it was their Pokemon...when everyone said no, I tried to see if it  _ was  _ anyone’s Pokemon by trying to catch it, and it just...kind of stayed in the ball.”

“Bad? With more than just his Umbreon? Impossible.” George laughed.

“Hey! I can have more than one Pokemon...it just...never really came up.” Bad huffed.

“Seriously, Bad, even  _ Dream  _ got his second Pokemon before you did.” Sapnap added on.

“I think you guys are forgetting who got their first Pokemon before anyone else.” Bad hmphed. 

“Ant got his Skitty when he was, like, 5, right?” Dream input.

“Other than Ant! It was me, you guys! I had a Pokemon before any of you!”

“Except for Ant.”

“I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT ANT!”

“Kind of weird to exclude Ant, Bad. Kind of hurtful.” Sapnap teased mockingly. 

“You all are too much.” Bad finally said with a huff.

It was Professor Maple who suggested that the trio go to the town of Shiphook for a nice summer visit. It was the town with the best beachside in all of Craftia. Getting through Route 6 to get to the town, though, proved harder than originally thought. Pokemon constantly jumped out to battle, along with the occasional trainer challenge. Dream and Sapnap didn’t mind much, but for George, it was exhausting. Holding the map in his hands, George let out a breath of relief when he realized they were close to town. 

“Finally.” He muttered to himself. Then, he felt something shock his foot. Squealing and jumping back caught the attention of Dream and Sapnap, who turned around to see George looking absolutely terrified at the sight of a Pachirisu, a very cute electric type Pokemon.

“Uh, George…?” Dream raised his eyebrows.

George was about to say something, when the Pachirisu approached and gently shocked him on the foot again by rubbing its cheek against him. He let out another squeal, trying to desperately shoo the Pachirisu away.

“Aww, it likes you!” Sapnap teased. 

“Why don’t you catch it, George?” Dream smiled. 

“No- absolutely not.”

“Aww, why not?” Sapnap tilted his head.

“I can tell- this thing is trouble. It’s always the cute ones, you know.” George muttered, trying to walk away from the Pokemon. Pachirisu just continued to follow him, giving little shocks at his feet from time to time, all making George jump. 

“Well, I guess we’ll just see if it keeps following you or not.”

And, well, it followed. It followed all the way to the beach. It followed as George set up the umbrellas, set out the towels, and put on his bathing suit. George glared down at it. “You know, you’re gonna kill me if you shock me while I’m in the water.”

Pachirisu stared up at George, a smile on its face. 

“That’s probably your plan, isn’t it?” George huffed.

“Oh my Arceus, is that your Pachirisu??” A high voice said, and George looked up from Pachirisu to a group of girls in bathing suits, all looking at him. George immediately began to blush, doing a double-take from the Pachirisu to the group of girls. 

“Uh…”

“It’s so cute! Can I pet it?”

“Uh-”

“Oh, its fur is so soft! You must take such good care of it!”

“I-”

“Hello, Pachirisu! Aww, aren’t you adorable??”

George blinked stupidly at the group of girls, half of which were adoring Pachirisu, and the other half talking to George.

“I heard there were Pachirisu’s on Route 6. Is that where you got this little baby?”

“Um, yeah. Yeah, it’s where I got it.”

“Oh my Arceus, I have to go to Route 6, then!!”

One of the girls leaned in to get a better look at George, who stood completely still. “You know, Pachirisu isn’t the only cutie here.”

“Okay, George needs to go now.” A male voice suddenly cut in, a voice familiar to George. It was Dream, who picked up the Pachirisu and took George by the wrist, despite the protests of the girls.

“Dream- what-”

“This isn’t even your Pachirisu, George.” Dream frowned. 

George stayed silent, looking down at Dream’s hand, which had moved from George’s wrist to holding onto George’s hand. George awkwardly slid his hand away from Dream’s grip, and Dream turned around, surprised.

“Sorry. I think...I’m gonna go.” George said, mouth in a thin line. Without another word, George walked away from Dream.

Dream didn’t know why he did that. He didn’t know why he suddenly got so defensive when he saw a group of girls surround George. He probably just ruined his friend's chances to actually get a girlfriend for once. Dream let out a heavy sigh, putting his head in his hands. 

“Hey, aren’t you gonna get in the water??” Sapnap rubbed Dream’s hair, much to Dream’s annoyance. He smacked Sapnap’s hand away.

“I’m not in the mood, Sapnap.” 

“Boohoo, too bad. We didn’t come here to sulk.” Sapnap took Dream by the wrist and dragged him into the water with surprising strength. He then proceeded to dunk Dream’s head under water. Dream popped back out of the water, spitting some out, and shooting a glare at Sapnap. Then, he cracked a smile, and splashed his friend with the saltwater. 

George watched as Sapnap and Dream played in the water. Sighing, he looked over at the Pachirisu, who was still by his side.

“I’m not getting in the water.” George protested the silence from the Pokemon. “You’re gonna electrocute me or something.” 

Pachirisu gently shocked George’s foot again.

“Why are you even following me? You don’t know me as a trainer. I could be terrible.”

Pachirisu nudged George’s hand.

“...Do you want to meet my team?” 

Pachirisu let out a happy cry, running in a circle. George couldn’t help but laugh a little. 

“Wartortle, Togetic, come out!”

Togetic immediately hugged George, while Wartortle looked in astonishment at the amount of water that was in front of it. 

“This is my team. We’re small, but we’re capable. Kind of like you, I guess.” George smiled at Pachirisu, who was bouncing up and down in front of Togetic, who looked confused. 

“If you really want to, Pachirisu, then I guess…” George held out a pokeball. Pachirisu immediately hit the button of the pokeball with its tail, and was enveloped in a soft red light. The ball rolled three times before clicking, and George held it up to the sunlight. His third Pokemon. 

George and Dream never talked about what had happened, nor did they ever bring it up with Sapnap. It was an awkward memory, and nothing more. Their friendship continued as if nothing had happened, anyways. 

It was winter, now, and George huddled up in his room with a blanket wrapped around himself. Gently, he held a present in his hands. It was a gift from Ant that got delivered not too long ago, but George never had the time to open it. 

‘I hope it’s nothing expensive,’ George thought to himself, ‘because I just got him some Pokemon food that’s supposedly really good for feline Pokemon. Arceus, Ant and his feline Pokemon…’

Unwrapping the gift revealed a shiny stone- no, literally, a Shiny Stone. George gawked at the stone, and immediately called Ant.

“I can’t accept this, Ant!”

“No, George, I promise- I had an extra one on hand. I went stone hunting not too long ago and found a bunch, so…” 

“Still- just-”

“George, I know you have a Togetic now. Don’t you know how Togetic evolves?”

George blinked. He hadn’t even  _ thought  _ about that. 

“Yep, that’s what I thought. Okay, I have someone challenging me now, I’ve gotta go. Have fun, George!”

And just like that, Ant hung up, leaving George feeling  _ extremely  _ stupid.

“You’re sure? Just...give Togetic a stupid stone and it evolves?” Sapnap said, holding himself in an attempt to warm up. They were all out of their houses and in the forest now. Togetic was outside of its pokeball, investigating the snow that covered the ground.

“Ant never ceases to amaze me.” Dream raised his eyebrows at the Shiny Stone George was holding. 

“Seriously, yeah.” George agreed, looking over at Togetic. Carefully, he approached his Pokemon and knelt down to where it was touching the snow. “Togetic, this is a Shiny Stone.” George said, holding it up for Togetic to see. “If you touch this, that means-”

George was cut off by Togetic touching the Shiny Stone.

And, right before George’s eyes was now flying a Togekiss.

“TOGETIC- I MEAN, TOGEKISS- FUCK, I WANTED TO EXPLAIN IT TO YOU FIRST!” George shouted in disbelief, Sapnap and Dream losing themselves in laughter. Togekiss just tilted its head to the side, confused, but still smiling. 

“Dude- dude that is  _ so  _ fucking funny!” Dream wheezed out. 

“It is  _ not _ ! Togekiss, do you even know what you just  _ did _ ?!”

Togekiss cried out happily, brushing itself against George. George just sighed, patting it on the back and accepting what just happened.

“Wait, hold on- this means we can  _ fly  _ now.” Sapnap suddenly said, stopping his laughter. “Oh my Arceus, boys, we can go to the  _ skies _ !”

“Togekiss looks like it’s only big enough for one person.” George stated matter-of-factly, staring at Togekiss’s back. 

“Well, we can take turns.” Dream suggested.

“It’s  _ my  _ Pokemon! We are  _ not  _ going to ‘take turns’!” George huffed, crossing his arms. 

“Hey, I helped raise it! Sapnap’s the one who didn’t do  _ anything  _ to help.” 

Sapnap let out a high-pitched “hey!” but was ignored. Togekiss gently hopped over to Dream, nudging his arm.

“Yeah, see? Togekiss knows me.” Dream laughed, petting Togekiss on the head. 

George just rolled his eyes, smiling.

When Bad came to visit Dawnworthy for the holidays, Sapnap made it a point to try and get Bad to fight him. Bad had gotten another Pokemon, a Mimikyu, from his visit to Alola- and Sapnap  _ really _ wanted to see it in battle.

During breakfast. “Bad, battle me.” “No.”

During lunch. “Bad, fight me!” “No!”

Opening presents. “Baaad, I challenge you!” “No, you don’t!”

During dinner. “Bad, you fucker, fight me!” “Language! And no!”

But, eventually, Sapnap got his way. Now, Bad and Sapnap were in the forest, both battle ready, with George and Dream standing and watching. 

“You’ll regret ever challenging me, Sapnap!” Bad smirked, and sent out a pokeball. “Go, Phantump!”

Sapnap laughed. “You’re the one who’s gonna regret actually  _ accepting  _ my challenge. I choose you, Charmeleon!”

Charmeleon took the field, licking its lips at the sight of Phantump, who immediately freaked out.

“It’s okay, Phantump! They’re just meanies, that’s all!” Bad huffed, putting his hands on his hips.

“Bad, we’re 16, and you’re  _ still  _ using the word ‘meanies’?” George sighed. 

“It’s cause it’s true!” Bad pointed at Sapnap. “He’s trying to scare my poor Phantump!”

“Dude, it’s a battle. Scare tactics? Ever heard of them?” Sapnap grumbled.

“Ha! So you  _ admit  _ to trying to scare Phantump!”

Dream shook his head. “This isn’t going anywhere. Can I leave?”

“Hold on- no! Here, Charmeleon, use Fire Fang!” Sapnap commanded. Charmeleon surged forward, teeth suddenly encased in flames. Phantump was defenseless as Charmeleon snapped its fiery fangs down around it and threw it to the side like a toy. It quickly got up, however, ready to listen to its trainer. 

Bad threw his hand forward. “Phantump, use Confuse Ray!”

Sapnap glared at his opponent. “Oh, you son of a-”

“LANGUAGE!”

A circle of lights appeared around Phantump, and they travelled to encase Charmeleon, who was looking around frantically. Charmeleon quickly became confused, wobbling where it stood. 

“Crap...Charmeleon, try using Dragon Breath!”

Charmeleon didn’t respond, holding its head and hurting itself in confusion. Sapnap inhaled sharply as Bad took the opportunity to attack. 

“Phantump, use Hex!”

Phantump waved its tiny arms and purple flames shot out towards Charmeleon, hitting their target. Charmeleon skidded back, still holding its head.

“Don’t let them get to you! Charmeleon, Fire Fang again!” 

Sapnap let out a breath of relief as Charmeleon did as it was told, hitting Phantump with the attack. Phantump rolled on the ground, fainted.

“Phantump, return!” Bad held Phantump’s pokeball close to his chest, complimenting how it battled. Then, he got out another pokeball. “We’re not done yet! Go, Mimikyu!” 

Sapnap let out a laugh. “Yes! Finally! Alright, Charmeleon, let’s give this Mimikyu a warm welcome! Use Dragon Breath-”

Sapnap was cut off by Charmeleon hitting itself in confusion again.

“Ha, perfect!” Bad pumped his fist. “Mimikyu, let’s finish this! Shadow Sneak!”

Mimikyu’s shadow suddenly reached out and attacked Charmeleon, stopping as the Pokemon fainted. 

Bad picked up Mimikyu and celebrated as Sapnap returned his Charmeleon. “Why are you celebrating so much? Dude, I still have 2 more Pokemon.” Sapnap raised an eyebrow at his friend.

“Every victory is worth celebrating, no matter how little!” Bad laughed as he set down Mimikyu back on the field. 

“Well, I’ll wipe that smile off your face soon enough!” Sapnap shouted as he threw out his next pokeball. “Go, Gible!” 

Gible shook itself off as it glared down its opponent, but unlike Phantump, Mimikyu stood its ground firmly. 

“Mimikyu, Double Team!” Bad yelled. 

Dozens of Mimikyus suddenly appeared around Gible, who looked all around itself frantically. 

“Gible, don’t mind it! Just use Bulldoze!”

Gible smiled, and put its hands down on the ground. The area where the two Pokemon were fighting began to shake, and the clone Mimikyus vanished as the real one was hit by the ground-type attack. 

“Mimikyu, are you alright?!” Called out Bad. Mimikyu landed sloppily, but got up. 

“Don’t let up, Gible! Use Dragon Breath!” 

A blue flame spat out from Gible’s mouth, shooting straight towards Mimikyu, who quickly dodged to the side. 

“Mimikyu, use Shadow Sneak!” 

Mimikyu used the same move it used to defeat Charmeleon, but it wasn’t enough to make Gible faint. Gible puffed out its chest proudly, mirroring exactly what its trainer was doing.

“Gible, Bulldoze, one more time!”

Gible obeyed orders, the ground under Mimikyu shaking violently. Mimikyu backed up, unsure of what to do. 

“Let’s finish this! Dragon Breath!” 

Gible charged forward and unleashed a familiar blue flame towards Mimikyu, who couldn’t dodge in time. It lay on the ground, fainted. 

Bad returned Mimikyu to its pokeball, frowning, but still telling Mimikyu it worked hard and did good.

Sapnap laughed in excitement, but stopped when he remembered- now he would have to face Bad’s strongest Pokemon, Umbreon. He clenched his fist.

“Don’t worry, Gible. We’ve got this.”

“Go, Umbreon!” Bad threw out his last pokeball, releasing his Umbreon onto the field. Umbreon let out a cry, ready to battle. “Use Swift!”

Umbreon leaped up into the air and whipped its tail towards Gible, unleashing shooting stars that rained down upon its opponent. Gible tried to shield itself, but the effort was futile. 

“Gible, are you alright?!” Sapnap yelled out. Gible nodded, letting out a growl. “Okay- then use Dragon Breath!” 

“Not so fast! Umbreon, use Bite!” 

Umbreon lunged forward and dodged the Dragon Breath with ease, landing a Bite attack on Gible. It threw Gible to the side, who was now fainted. 

“Shit,” Sapnap hissed through his teeth, returning Gible to his pokeball.

“Language!” Bad snapped, putting his hands on his hips. “Just because I’m  _ winning  _ doesn’t mean you can be a bad little muffin head!”

“Oh, you won’t be winning for long!” Sapnap chuckled, getting out his last pokeball. “Go, Poochyena!” 

Poochyena erupted from the light of the pokeball, immediately growling and barking. Dream and George covered their ears. 

“Aw, what a lively little thing!” Bad clapped his hands together. “Umbreon, don’t let your guard down!”

Umbreon nodded, getting into a battle stance. Poochyena mirrored Umbreon, still growling.

“Poochyena, use Tackle!”

Poochyena charged forward, but Umbreon dodged with grace. Sapnap let out a groan at the sight. 

Bad smirked in response, now confident. “Now, Umbreon, use Take Down!”

Umbreon let out a cry and surged forward, tackling Poochyena viciously. Poochyena let out a yelp of pain, and even Umbreon seemed to flinch, and Sapnap remembered that Take Down hurts the user as well. Poochyena leaped away as Sapnap regained his thoughts and nodded firmly. 

“Poochyena, Howl!”

Poochyena let out an ear-piercing howl to raise its attack stat. 

“Raise your attack stat all you want, it won’t matter when you lose!” Bad laughed. “Umbreon, finish this with another Take Down!”

Umbreon took no time at all, headbutting into Poochyena, sending Poochyena flying. 

“Poochyena!” Sapnap yelled out. 

Poochyena lay on the ground, trying its best to get back up. 

“Are you alright?!” Sapnap fought the urge to run into the field and check on his Pokemon. 

Poochyena let out a small bark, now standing on its paws, but wobbling.

“It’s over, Sapnap! Umbreon, Swift!”

Umbreon leaped up into the air and slashed its tail through the air, releasing a row of shooting stars right at Poochyena, who looked terrified. 

Sapnap yelled for Poochyena to dodge, but there was no time. Instead, Sapnap watched in awe as Poochyena was suddenly wrapped in a white light. A sudden force dispelled the Swift attack, and from the white light charged a Mightyena. 

Sapnap let out a laugh of disbelief. “Po-Mightyena! Haha, Bad, you’re  _ screwed _ !” Bad backed up a bit in shock, but regained his posture. “Evolved or not, we’re winning this! Umbreon, use Take Down!”

“Mightyena, counter it with Tackle!”

Umbreon and Mightyena charged at one another, both meeting in a forceful crash. Mightyena’s larger size and raised attack stat sent Umbreon rolling onto the ground. 

“Take the opportunity! Use Howl again!”

Mightyena let out a powerful howl as Umbreon stood back up.

“Come on, Umbreon! Use Bite!” 

“You’re trying to bite  _ us _ ? The  _ masters of biting things _ ?! Laughable!” Sapnap mocked, George rolling his eyes. “Mightyena, use your new move! Snarl!”

Mightyena did as it was told, releasing a loud snarl that took form in a dark ring that erupted from itself, hitting into Umbreon before it could use Bite. 

“Now, let’s finish this for real! Tackle attack!”

Just as Umbreon was getting back up, Mightyena charged straight into it, sending Umbreon flying and hitting a tree. Umbreon collapsed upon landing, fainted.

It took a second before Sapnap actually registered: he had won. 

He let out an ear-splitted whoop, running over to Mightyena as Bad returned Umbreon to its pokeball. Mightyena licked Sapnap’s face, wagging its tail in excitement, and Sapnap laughed loudly, petting and hugging his Pokemon.

“That was a close call.” Dream observed.

“Yeah, I’m surprised Sapnap actually  _ won _ .” George chuckled.

“If it weren’t for Mightyena evolving, he probably would’ve lost.” Dream smirked. 

“Come on, guys, just celebrate my victory for once!” Sapnap whined, Mightyena still licking his face. 

Bad smiled, walking over to Sapnap. “Good battle, ya muffin head.” 

“Thanks, Bad.” Sapnap said, getting back up to face his friend. Mightyena was wagging its tail happily, tongue lolling out. 

“You guys are really getting ready for the gym challenge, huh?” Bad tilted his head down at Mightyena.

“‘You guys’? Bad, aren’t you going to enter the gym challenge?” Sapnap questioned. 

“No, I’m not. It’s not really my thing. I’m satisfied with just having my Pokemon.” Bad’s face was gentle, and his voice became soft.

“Oh...that’s kind of disappointing. I would’ve loved to beat you in front of an audience.” Sapnap smirked, Bad letting out a noise of annoyance.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I'm super excited about this fic, I've been working on it for about a month now. I'll try to post a chapter every other day. Comments are SUPER appreciated, so please leave some!   
> Also, you guys are in for a wild ride.


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